Fritjof Capra, an American physicist of Austrian origin, authored ‘The Tao Of Physics’ in 1975 and brought to light the concept of creation and destruction as the essence of inorganic matter - while drawing a very interesting comparison with Lord Shiva’s Dance, which he termed as a dance of ‘subatomic matter’. Capra also explained the relationship between Shiva’s dance and science, potentially inferring that destruction eventually led to creation and evolution. Shiva’s dancing form, the Nataraja (King of Dance), and his cosmic manifestation (Nritya-murthi) has been a part of Indian mythological folklore. It is believed that Shiva danced to put an end to the universe and ordered God Brahma to create life anew. The Nataraja form has been depicted through sound rays emanating from the beating of a hand drum (Damroo) by Lord Shiva, and has also been associated with the five elements of nature: Air, Water, Fire, Earth and Ether, by many religious scholars. Capra believed that Nataraja’s body and hands represented the sky and the eight directions (ashtadik): the three eyes represented the sun, the moon and the directions; the smile, the crescent moon; and the tiger skin, the attire. The serpent on his neck and the body of a dwarfed demon under Nataraja’s feet embodied the qualities of enlightenment, wisdom, protection, freedom, kindness and the control over negative qualities like sloth, jealousy, anger and dimness in knowledge.
Shiva or Mahadeva, the great and auspicious Hindu God, is arguably the most popular of Hindu deities and is worshipped extensively in the Shaivate tradition of Hindu religion. He is considered to be one of the trinity of Hindu Gods - along with Brahma (Creator) and Vishnu (Preserver). Mythologically, Shiva performs the role of the Destroyer, but in equal measure he is considered to be the Preserver of Divine Art. Many scholars like Capra were intrigued by Shiva and his dancing forms - primary of them being the fearsome and the compassionate. Shiva is seen as a yogi (ascetic) living on Mount Kailash and also as a married God with two children (with his wife Shakti or Parvati). He has also been portrayed as the slayer of demons - his fiery third eye reducing evil to ashes. His matted locks hold a crescent moon, which controls the flow of the holy Ganges that trickles down from his hair; and he holds a Damroo in one hand and a Trishul (Trident) in the other. Shiva is believed to manifest the Cosmic aspect of Dance. He is the Lord of the Divine Dance called Tandava, which is a vigorous and enthusiastic form of expression portraying both a violent nature (Rudra Tandava) and also enjoyment and joy (Ananda Tandava). Hindu mythology has also documented instances when some of the other Gods of Heaven - Krishna (incarnation of Vishnu) and Indra (King of Heaven) - have performed the Tandava. As Shiva is generally viewed as a Yogic God, Tandava is often associated with trance, joy, divinity, self-realisation and the merging of self with the Divine. Shiva’s Dance also manifests Divine eternal energy, propagating qualities from the fifth Veda - the Natyaveda, which encompasses lyrics, gestures, music, emotion and sentimental connotations from the other four Vedas. Tandava is also said to be a paradox in real terms: the yogic ascetic, who is calm within himself, free from tensions and worries and who has experienced the absolute, transforms himself into a dancing mode, juxtaposing the internal calmness with energy, activeness and playfulness, through agitated and frenzied movements.
Tandava is considered to have its origins from Tanda, one of the attendants of Shiva, who instructed Bharata Muni, the author of Natyashastra, the treatise of Classical Dance, to incorporate Tandava within two modes - the Karanas (108 in number) and the Anghaharas (32 in number). These are a combination of hand gestures and feet movements, where seven or more Karanas form every Anghahara. The Shivapradosha Stotra also mentions that when Shiva performs the Tandava, the other Gods accompany his performance. Brahma, the Creator, sets the rhythm (tala); Vishnu, the Preserver, plays the Mridangam (a cylindrical drum); Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning, plays the Veena (stringed instrument); Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth, sings; and Indra, the God of Heaven, plays the flute. Even Goddess Gauri performs with Shiva in an enjoyable performance in the evening. The female version of the Tandava performed by Shiva’s wife Parvati is called the Lasya, and the tradition of Lasya is still prevalent among female dancers. There are also instances when Shiva has performed the Tandava in fury, especially when his wife Sati (the earlier birth of Parvati) immolated herself after being insulted by her father. Shiva is believed to have made Heaven and Earth tremble in his Dance of grief and anger. He is also believed to take the form of Bhairava or Veerabhadra while dancing vigorously in the Samshan (cremation ground), in order to free the trapped soul from bondage and to reduce ego to ashes and dust. He dances in the midst of demons that, according to scriptures, fear and revere Shiva as their only God. Shiva is also believed to dance for the purification of the soul, protection and well-being of his devotees, destruction of avaidya (illicit deeds), adharma (unrighteousness) and maya (illusion). The different postures adopted in the Tandava are also depicted by the Nataraja form, where Shiva wears different earrings on both ears. He holds fire on one hand, raises his foot and crushes a dwarfed demon under the other; points one hand forward while holding a Damroo, straps a serpent on the other wrist and touches the Chakra (the wheel of life) with his hand and feet. Shiva’s Dance has been documented in Hindu religious scriptures, in bronzes and sculptures, especially in the temples of South India. The followers of the Shaivate tradition and the worshippers of Shakti (the consort of Shiva) believe that Shiva’s Dance underlines the principles of the cosmic and philosophical tenets of the Hindu religion. Metaphysicists dealing with the principles of abstract concepts like knowledge, being, identity, time and space, have also acknowledged the meaningful amalgamation of the known and the unknown through the Dance of Lord Shiva. Shiva, to many, is not only a God who is worshipped, but also a Dancer who facilitates scientific, cultural and religious unison.
The Writer is a renowned Kuchipudi Danseuse and Choreographer
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